FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2009
Contact: Anne Caliguiri
at 202.682.4443 or anne.caliguiri@techamerica.org
Charlie Greenwald at 703.284.5305 or charlie.greenwald@techamerica.org
TechAmerica
Announces Merger with
Illinois Defense
Industry Association (IDIA)
Focus on
Expanding Public Sector Resources for Illinois Technology and Defense Industry
Oakbrook
Terrace, IL –
TechAmerica, formed by the merger of the
Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and AeA, and the Illinois
Defense Industry Association (IDIA) announced today that they have officially
consolidated activities to strengthen their focus on providing the Illinois technology and defense industry
access to resources to grow their public sector business, visibility, and
strategic partnerships.
"Illinois and the greater Midwest region is home to thousands
of companies that sell products and services to the government,” stated Ed Longanecker, Executive Director, TechAmerica
Midwest. “State, local, and federal governments remain the largest procurer of
IT products and services in the country. These
contracts provide significant opportunities for technology and defense oriented
companies to grow their business, and Illinois is a leader in developing
innovative products, services, and public sector solutions.”
The merger between TechAmerica and IDIA includes the
formation of the Illinois Defense & Technology Procurement Advisory Board,
which is a sub-committee of TechAmerica’s Midwest
Board of Directors. Companies
participating on the Advisory Board include Motorola, Inc., The Boeing Company,
SAIC, SPSS Inc., Zebra Technologies, Inc., PCTEL, Inc., Univa
UD, and RedSky Technologies, Inc.
"The
combining of our assets with TechAmerica's resources will unlock great
opportunities for Illinois companies,” said Jeff Datkuliak, IDIA President.
“The visibility of this critical industry segment and the impact of these
contracts and government expenditures to local businesses and our local economy
are especially important in the current challenging environment. I look
forward to the great leap forward this gives our members and to delivering the
message to higher and broader audiences."
TechAmerica and the new Illinois Defense & Technology Procurement Advisory
Board will expand resources for members of the combined organizations to develop
new strategic partnerships, business development opportunities, focused
programmatic activities, and legislative initiatives at the state and federal
level. The Advisory Board and newly merged organization will focus on assisting
small, medium, and large businesses in Illinois with their public sector
efforts and strategy. Members will also have access to a broad range of
committees, market intelligence resources, and standards development offered
through TechAmerica’s Public Sector Group.
TechAmerica’s Public Sector Group is the leading
promoter of e-Gov for the federal, state, and local government markets.
Companies looking to network with major IT contractors or dialogue with their
government customers have significant opportunity within the Public Sector
Group. Members have the ability to meet directly with Federal Agency CIO’s,
State and Local CIO’s, program managers, and other key decision makers, and
actively influence outsourcing/procurement issues with agency and congressional
officials. Details on TechAmerica’s public sector committees can be
found at http://www.aeanet.org/PS.
For additional information on TechAmerica’s Public Sector Group and broad
portfolio of industry leading resources, please contact Ed Longanecker,
Executive Director, TechAmerica Midwest, at 630-613-7174, or
ed.longanecker@techamerica.org.
- # # # -
About TechAmerica:
TechAmerica is the leading voice for the U.S. technology industry, the driving
force behind productivity growth and jobs creation in the United States and the foundation of the global
innovation economy. Representing approximately 1,500 member companies of
all sizes from the public and commercial sectors of the economy, it is the
industry’s largest technology advocacy organization and is dedicated to helping
members’ top and bottom lines. It is also the technology industry's only
grassroots-to-global advocacy network, covering all U.S. state capitals, Washington, D.C., Europe (Brussels) and Asia (Beijing). TechAmerica
was formed by the merger of AeA (formerly the American Electronics
Association), the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the Information Technology
Association of America (ITAA) and the Government
Electronics & Information Technology Association (GEIA). Learn more at http://www.aeanet.org or http://www.itaa.org.
About
IDIA:
The Illinois Defense Industry
Association is a professional organization of over 40 Illinois businesses
dedicated to improving opportunities for Illinois companies working in the
defense and homeland security industries. Founded in 1997 by eight companies
with a vision for cooperative effort and mutual advancement, the organization
has grown to include large and small manufacturers, information technology
firms and support organizations. IDIA hosts regular networking meetings,
legislative updates and informational sessions on topics of interest to our
members and provides educational information to the media, general public,
public agencies and elected officials on the vibrant and growing Illinois business
segment providing goods and services in the defense of our Nation.
